The macroscopic strength of an oriented medium is investigated under the assumption that processes of breaking and reforming of microscopic components in the medium may occur. The differential equation governing the time‐dependent variation of the number of load‐carrying components is considered. Emphasis is placed on the study of the effect of the reformation processes on the stress‐time‐to‐fracture behavior. It is suggested that under small loads these processes may be responsible for the frequently observed phenomena of the deviation from linearity of the strength and logarithm of time‐to‐fracture relationship. An attempt is also made to compare theoretical results with some reported experimental data.